This is what many people would tell you about the relationship of transparency to sales:

In reality, I think that transparency is a  core value in your overall communications program, which looks more like this:

Social media has given the world the tools to share their lives with the world. Most brands have “joined the conversation” and, at the very least, are using social tools for customer service.

To gain traction in the world of social media today’s brands need to put together an integrated campaign that offers more than transparency and engagement as incentives for potential and current customers. A badge, “thanks for the tweet”, or Facebook response, while still important, will not surprise customers any longer.

Listening and responding on social channels is not novel anymore, it is simply good business.

It’s time to move from transparency, listening, and engagement to a more complex social media ecosystem if you want to gain traction.

The new GE healthymagination website , built by Big Spaceship, illustrates this transition from chatter to value. The website is much more than a conversation about improving individual health, it is a beautiful branded hub that is as full of stories as resourceful content. It offers value well beyond conversation or transparency. This page explains their mobile app, “morsel” aimed at improving the health of individuals:

It’s time for brands to move beyond an obsession with conversation and engagement. Hands down, you should be customer focused, but what extra value are you offering your customers that will make you stand out?

We all have conversations with people and brands we don’t like out of necessity everyday. We value, and are influenced by, the conversations with individuals and brands that emotionally resonate with us, that improve our lives in a tangible way. Be that brand and be that person.

Do you think it’s time that brands and individuals alike went above and beyond social media conversation? Is transparency enough?

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